Search results for: Water resource management.

Authors: Reem Al-Kaabi

Abstract:

The concept of e-government has begun to spread among countries. It is based on the use of information communication technology (ICT) to fully utilize government resources, as well as to provide government services to citizens, investors and foreigners. Critical factors are the factors that are determined by the senior management of each organization; the success or failure of the organization depends on the effective implementation of critical factors. These factors vary from one organization to another according to their activity, size and functions. It is very important that organizations identify them in order to avoid the risk of implementing initiatives that may fail to work, while simultaneously exploiting opportunities that may succeed in working. The main focus of this paper is to investigate the majority of critical success factors (CSFs) associated with the implementation of e-government projects. This study concentrates on both technical and nontechnical factors. This paper concludes by listing the majority of CSFs relating to successful e-government implementation in Bahrain.

Keywords: Critical success factors, e-government, ICT, implementation, Kingdom of Bahrain.

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Authors: Carlo Bellettini, Alessandro Marchetto, Andrea Trentini

Abstract:

Web applications have become very complex and crucial, especially when combined with areas such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and BPR (Business Process Reengineering), the scientific community has focused attention to Web applications design, development, analysis, and testing, by studying and proposing methodologies and tools. This paper proposes an approach to automatic multi-dimensional concern mining for Web Applications, based on concepts analysis, impact analysis, and token-based concern identification. This approach lets the user to analyse and traverse Web software relevant to a particular concern (concept, goal, purpose, etc.) via multi-dimensional separation of concerns, to document, understand and test Web applications. This technique was developed in the context of WAAT (Web Applications Analysis and Testing) project. A semi-automatic tool to support this technique is currently under development.

Keywords: Aspect Mining, Concepts Analysis, Concerns Mining, Multi-Dimensional Separation of Concerns, Impact Analysis.

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Authors: Farhan Beg

Abstract:

The Indian subcontinent is facing a massive challenge with regards to the energy security in member countries, i.e. providing a reliable source of electricity to facilitate development across various sectors of the economy and thereby achieve the developmental targets it has set for itself. A highly precarious situation exists in the subcontinent which is observed in the series of system failures which most of the times leads to system collapses-blackouts. To mitigate the issues related with energy security as well as keep in check the increasing supply demand gap, a possible solution that stands in front of the subcontinent is the deployment of an interconnected electricity ‘Supergrid’ designed to carry huge quanta of power across the sub continent as well as provide the infra structure for RES integration. This paper assesses the need and conditions for a Supergrid deployment and consequently proposes a meshed topology based on VSC HVDC converters for the Supergrid modeling.

Keywords: Super grid, Wind and Solar Energy, HVDC, Electricity management, Load Flow Analysis.

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Authors: Walter Hussak

Abstract:

We present an operator for a propositional linear temporal logic over infinite schedules of iterated transactions, which, when applied to a formula, asserts that any schedule satisfying the formula is serializable. The resulting logic is suitable for specifying and verifying consistency properties of concurrent transaction management systems, that can be defined in terms of serializability, as well as other general safety and liveness properties. A strict form of serializability is used requiring that, whenever the read and write steps of a transaction occurrence precede the read and write steps of another transaction occurrence in a schedule, the first transaction must precede the second transaction in an equivalent serial schedule. This work improves on previous work in providing a propositional temporal logic with a serializability operator that is of the same PSPACE complete computational complexity as standard propositional linear temporal logic without a serializability operator.

Keywords: Temporal logic, iterated transactions, serializability.

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Authors: Samson Abayomi Olasoju, Olufemi Adekunle, Titilope Edun, Johnson Owoseni

Abstract:

Science offers opportunities for revolutionizing human activities, enriched by input from scientific research and technology. Biotechnology is a major force for development in developing countries such as Nigeria. It is found to contribute to solving human problems like water and food insecurity that impede national development and threaten peace wherever it is applied. This review identified the problems of agricultural biotechnology in Nigeria. On the part of rural farmers, there is a lack of adequate knowledge or awareness of biotechnology despite the fact that they constitute the bulk of Nigerian farmers. On part of the government, the problems include: lack of adequate implementation of government policy on bio-safety and genetically modified products, inadequate funding of education as well as research and development of products related to biotechnology. Other problems include: inadequate infrastructures (including laboratory), poor funding and lack of national strategies needed for development and running of agricultural biotechnology. In spite of all the challenges associated with agricultural biotechnology, its prospects still remain great if Nigeria is to meet with the food needs of the country’s ever increasing population. The introduction of genetically engineered products will lead to the high productivity needed for commercialization and food security. Insect, virus and other related diseases resistant crops and livestock are another viable area of contribution of biotechnology to agricultural production. In conclusion, agricultural biotechnology will not only ensure food security, but, in addition, will ensure that the local farmers utilize appropriate technology needed for large production, leading to the prosperity of the farmers and national economic growth, provided government plays its role of adequate funding and good policy implementation.

Keywords: Biosafety, biotechnology, food security, genetic engineering, genetic modification.

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Authors: M. Mohemmed Sha, T. Manesh, A. Mohamed Mustaq Ahmed

Abstract:

In this corporate world, the technology of Web services has grown rapidly and its significance for the development of web based applications gradually rises over time. The success of Business to Business integration rely on finding novel partners and their services in a global business environment. However, the selection of the most suitable Web service from the list of services with the identical functionality is more vital. The satisfaction level of the customer and the provider’s reputation of the Web service are primarily depending on the range it reaches the customer’s requirements. In most cases, the customer of the Web service feels that he is spending for the service which is undelivered. This is because the customer always thinks that the real functionality of the web service is not reached. This will lead to change of the service frequently. In this paper, a framework is proposed to evaluate the Quality of Service (QoS) and its cost that makes the optimal correlation between each other. In addition, this research work proposes some management decision against the functional deviancy of the web service that is guaranteed at time of selection.

Keywords: Web service, service level agreement, quality of a service, cost of a service, QoS, CoS, SOA, WSLA, WsRF.

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Authors: Omer K. Jasim, Safia Abbas, El-Sayed M. El-Horbaty, Abdel-Badeeh M. Salem

Abstract:

Cloud computing technology is very useful in present day to day life, it uses the internet and the central remote servers to provide and maintain data as well as applications. Such applications in turn can be used by the end users via the cloud communications without any installation. Moreover, the end users’ data files can be accessed and manipulated from any other computer using the internet services. Despite the flexibility of data and application accessing and usage that cloud computing environments provide, there are many questions still coming up on how to gain a trusted environment that protect data and applications in clouds from hackers and intruders. This paper surveys the “keys generation and management” mechanism and encryption/decryption algorithms used in cloud computing environments, we proposed new security architecture for cloud computing environment that considers the various security gaps as much as possible. A new cryptographic environment that implements quantum mechanics in order to gain more trusted with less computation cloud communications is given.

Keywords: Cloud Computing, Cloud Encryption Model, Quantum Key Distribution.

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Authors: Carlo Bellettini, Alessandro Marchetto, Andrea Trentini

Abstract:

Web applications have become very complex and crucial, especially when combined with areas such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and BPR (Business Process Reengineering), the scientific community has focused attention to Web applications design, development, analysis, and testing, by studying and proposing methodologies and tools. This paper proposes an approach to automatic multi-dimensional concern mining for Web Applications, based on concepts analysis, impact analysis, and token-based concern identification. This approach lets the user to analyse and traverse Web software relevant to a particular concern (concept, goal, purpose, etc.) via multi-dimensional separation of concerns, to document, understand and test Web applications. This technique was developed in the context of WAAT (Web Applications Analysis and Testing) project. A semi-automatic tool to support this technique is currently under development.

Keywords: Concepts Analysis, Concerns Mining, Multi-Dimensional Separation of Concerns, Impact Analysis.

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Authors: Y.-H Tshela Ntumba, A. Przepiórkowska, M. Prochoń

Abstract:

Polymeric materials have become an integral part of every aspect of today's industry. They have wide applications, inter alia, in areas such as medicine, food industry and agriculture. In agriculture, for example, they are used for the production of pots, irrigation systems and for soil mulching. The aim of this study was the attempt to produce a biodecomposable agricultural mat, by coating cotton fabric with a blend of carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex (LBSK) containing the enzymatic hydrolyzate of keratin from cattle hair, which would serve as a material for mulching.

The production of such material allows the beneficial management of burdensome tannery waste constituted by keratin from cattle hair and at the same time, the production of agricultural mats that much faster undergo decomposition than commonly used polyethylene mats.

Keywords: Agricultural mat, biodecomposition, biodegradation, carboxylated styrene-butadiene latex, cellulosic-elastomeric material, keratin hydrolyzate, mulching, protein hydrolyzate.

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Authors: Kati Kõrbe Kaare, Ott Koppel

Abstract:

Transport and logistics are the lifeblood of societies. There is a strong correlation between overall growth in economic activity and growth of transport. The movement of people and goods has the potential for creating wealth and prosperity, therefore the state of transportation infrastructure and especially the condition of road networks is often a governmental priority. The design, building and maintenance of national roads constitute a substantial share of government budgets. Taking into account the magnitude and importance of these investments, the expedience, efficiency and sustainability of these projects are of great public interest. This paper provides an overview of supply chain management principles applied to road construction. In addition, road construction performance measurement systems and ICT solutions are discussed. Road construction in Estonia is analyzed. The authors propose the development of a national performance measurement system for road construction.

Keywords: ICT in road construction, key performance indicators, quality performance measurement, road construction supply chain.

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Authors: Nerijus Remeikis, Ignas Skucas, Vida Melninkaite

Abstract:

Text categorization - the assignment of natural language documents to one or more predefined categories based on their semantic content - is an important component in many information organization and management tasks. Performance of neural networks learning is known to be sensitive to the initial weights and architecture. This paper discusses the use multilayer neural network initialization with decision tree classifier for improving text categorization accuracy. An adaptation of the algorithm is proposed in which a decision tree from root node until a final leave is used for initialization of multilayer neural network. The experimental evaluation demonstrates this approach provides better classification accuracy with Reuters-21578 corpus, one of the standard benchmarks for text categorization tasks. We present results comparing the accuracy of this approach with multilayer neural network initialized with traditional random method and decision tree classifiers.

Keywords: Text categorization, decision trees, neural networks, machine learning.

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Authors: T. M. Al Muhareb, J. Graham-Jones

Abstract:

The service quality is a significant element in aviation industry especially in the international airports. Through this paper, the researchers built a model based on Lean six sigma methodologies and applied it in the departure area at KKIA (King Khalid International Airport) in order to assess it. This model characterized with many special features that can become over the cultural differences in aviation industry since it is considered the most critical circumstance in this field. Applying the model of this study is depending on following the DMAIC procedure systemized in lean thinking aspects. This model of Lean-six-sigma as a managerial procedure is mostly focused on the change management culture that requires high level of planning, organizing, modifying, and controlling in order to benefit from strengths as well as revoke weaknesses.

Keywords: Lean-six-sigma, Service quality, Aviation industry, KKIA (King Khalid International Airport), SERVQUAL.

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Authors: Leena N. Fukey, Surya S. Issac

Abstract:

This review paper aims at understanding the importance of implementing sustainable green practices in the current hotel industry and the perception of the same from the point of view of the customers as well as the industry experts. Many hotels have benefited from green management such as enhanced reputation of the firm and more worth customers. For the business standing, it reduces business’s cost for posting advertisements and the clear hotel’s orientation shows hotels’ positive image which might increase employees’ recognition toward the business. Sustainability in business is the growth in lively processes which enable people to understand the potential to protect the Earth’s existent support systems. Well, looking to the future today’s green concerns will definitely become facet of more synchronized business environment, perhaps the concerns discussed in this study, may exchange a few words which hotels may consider in near future to widen awareness and improve business model.

Keywords: Environmental Protection, Green Hotel Concept, Hotel Industry, Sustainability.

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Authors: Efat Lali Dastjerdi, Hassan Sadeghi Naeini, Hadi Sanjari

Abstract:

One of the important steps in a safety and risk management system is the economical evaluation of occupational accident and diseases costs in order to decrease accidents from reoccurring in the workplace. This study proposed a plausible method for calculating occupational accident costs and illnesses in work place. This method design for cost estimation takes into account both the personnel, organizational level as well as the community level especially intended for an Iranian work place. The research indicates that a using systematic method for calculating costs which also provides risk evaluation can help managers to plan correctly the investment in health and safety measures. Using this method is that not only is it comprehensive, easy and practical and could be applied in practice by a manager within a short period of time but it also shows the importance of accident costs as well as calculates the real cost of an accident and illnesses.

Keywords: ost calculating model, Economics of health and Safety.

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Authors: N. Phumchusri, K. Roekdethawesab, M. Lohatepanont

Abstract:

Overbooking is an approach of selling more goods or services than available capacities because sellers anticipate that some buyers will not show-up or may cancel their bookings. At present, many airlines deploy overbooking strategy in order to deal with the uncertainty of their customers. Particularly, some airlines sell more cargo capacity than what they have available to freight forwarders with beliefs that some of them will cancel later. In this paper, we propose methods to find the optimal overbooking level of volume and weight for air cargo in order to minimize the total cost, containing cost of spoilage and cost of offloaded. Cancellations of volume and weight are jointly random variables with a known joint distribution. Heuristic approaches applying the idea of weight and volume independency is considered to find an appropriate answer to the full problem. Computational experiments are used to explore the performance of approaches presented in this paper, as compared to a naïve method under different scenarios.

Keywords: Air cargo overbooking, offloaded capacity, optimal overbooking level, revenue management, spoilage capacity.

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Authors: Ahmed A. Hussain, Abbas A. Mohammed, Heba. H. Ibrahim, Amir H. Abbas

Abstract:

In this study the extracts of the Iraqi herb Tribulus terrestris (Al-Hassage or Al-Kutub) was done by using of polar and non polar solvents, then the biological activity of these extractants was studied in three fields, First, the antibacterial activity (in vitro) on gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus), and gram negative bacteria (E. coli, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aerugiuosa, and Klebsiella), all extracts showed considerable activity against all bacteria. Second, the effect of extracts on free serum testosterone level in male mice (in vivo), the alcoholic, and acetonitrilic extracts showed significant (P < 0.05) increase in free serum testosterone level, and we found that the extracts contained compounds with less genotoxic effects in mice germ cells. 3rd, was to study the effect of methanolic extract of T. terrestris in diabetes management.

Keywords: Genotoxic, germ cells, tribulus terrestris, testosterone.

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Authors: B. Prebreza, I. Krasniqi, G. Kabashi, G. Pula, N. Avdiu

Abstract:

This paper discusses aspects of outages in the electric transmission network in the Kosovo Power System caused by the atmospheric discharges.

Frequency and location of the atmospheric discharges in Kosovo territory will be provided by a lightning location system ALARM (Automated Lightning Alert and Risk Management) and from the data from the Meteorological Department in Prishtina International Airport. These data will be used to make comparisons with the actual outages registered in the Kosovo Power System from the Kosovo Transmission, systems and market operator (KOSTT) during a specific time period.

The lines with the worst performance determined, regarding the atmospheric discharges, will be choose for further discussions in terms of over voltages caused by the direct or indirect lightning strokes.

Recommendations for protection in terms of insulator coordination and surge arresters will be given at the end and in this stage dynamic simulation will take part.

Keywords: Atmospheric discharges, dynamic simulations, Kosovo Power System, surge arresters.

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Authors: Jun Wan, Zehua Chen, Yingwu Chen, Zhidong Bai

Abstract:

Classification is an interesting problem in functional data analysis (FDA), because many science and application problems end up with classification problems, such as recognition, prediction, control, decision making, management, etc. As the high dimension and high correlation in functional data (FD), it is a key problem to extract features from FD whereas keeping its global characters, which relates to the classification efficiency and precision to heavens. In this paper, a novel automatic method which combined Genetic Algorithm (GA) and classification algorithm to extract classification features is proposed. In this method, the optimal features and classification model are approached via evolutional study step by step. It is proved by theory analysis and experiment test that this method has advantages in improving classification efficiency, precision and robustness whereas using less features and the dimension of extracted classification features can be controlled.

Keywords: Classification, functional data, feature extraction, genetic algorithm, wavelet.

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Authors: S. Sfarni, E. Bellenger, J. Fortin, M. Guessasma

Abstract:

The use of the mechanical simulation (in particular the finite element analysis) requires the management of assumptions in order to analyse a real complex system. In finite element analysis (FEA), two modeling steps require assumptions to be able to carry out the computations and to obtain some results: the building of the physical model and the building of the simulation model. The simplification assumptions made on the analysed system in these two steps can generate two kinds of errors: the physical modeling errors (mathematical model, domain simplifications, materials properties, boundary conditions and loads) and the mesh discretization errors. This paper proposes a mesh adaptive method based on the use of an h-adaptive scheme in combination with an error estimator in order to choose the mesh of the simulation model. This method allows us to choose the mesh of the simulation model in order to control the cost and the quality of the finite element analysis.

Keywords: Finite element, discretization errors, adaptivity.

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Authors: Simon Samwel Msanjila

Abstract:

Networked environments which provide platforms for business organizations are configured in different forms depending on many factors including life time, member characteristics, communication structure, and business objectives, among others. With continuing advances in digital technologies the distance has become a less barrier for business minded collaboration among organizations. With the need and ease to make business collaborate nowadays organizations are sometimes forced to co-work with others that are either unknown or less known to them in terms of history and performance. A promising approach for sustaining established collaboration has been establishment of trust relationship among organizations based on assessed trustworthiness for each participating organization. It has been stated in research that trust in organization is dynamic and thus assessment of trust level must address such dynamic nature. This paper assesses relevant aspects of trust and applies the assessed concepts to propose a semi-automated system for the management of Sustainability and Evolution of trust in organizations participating in specific objective in a networked organizations environment.

Keywords: Trust evolution, trust sustainability, networked organizations, dynamic trust.

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Authors: Omer Mahmood, Selvakennedy Selvadurai

Abstract:

“Web of Trust" is one of the recognized goals for Web 2.0. It aims to make it possible for the people to take responsibility for what they publish on the web, including organizations, businesses and individual users. These objectives, among others, drive most of the technologies and protocols recently standardized by the governing bodies. One of the great advantages of Web infrastructure is decentralization of publication. The primary motivation behind Web 2.0 is to assist the people to add contents for Collective Intelligence (CI) while providing mechanisms to link content with people for evaluations and accountability of information. Such structure of contents will interconnect users and contents so that users can use contents to find participants and vice versa. This paper proposes conceptual information storage and linking model, based on decentralized information structure, that links contents and people together. The model uses FOAF, Atom, RDF and RDFS and can be used as a blueprint to develop Web 2.0 applications for any e-domain. However, primary target for this paper is online trust evaluation domain. The proposed model targets to assist the individuals to establish “Web of Trust" in online trust domain.

Keywords: Web of Trust, Semantic Web, Electronic SocialNetworks, Information Management

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Authors: Musaida M. M. Manyuchi, Anthony Phiri, Ngoni Chirinda, Perkins Muredzi, Joseph Govhaand, Thamary Sengudzwa

Abstract:

Waste corn pulp was investigated as a potential feedstock during vermicomposting using Eisenia fetida. Corn pulp is the major staple food in Southern Africa and constitutes about 25% of the total organic waste. Wastecooked corn pulp was blended with cow dung in the ratio 6:1 respectively to optimize the vermicomposting process. The feedstock was allowed to vermicompost for 30 days. The vermicomposting took place in a 3- tray plastic worm bin. Moisture content, temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity were monitoreddaily. The NPK content was determined at day 30. During vermicomposting, moisture content increased from 27.68% to 52.41%, temperature ranged between 19- 25◦C, pH increased from 5.5 to 7.7, and electrical conductivity decreased from 80000μS/cm to 60000μS/cm. The ash content increased from 11.40% to 28.15%; additionally the volatile matter increased from 1.45% to 10.02%. An odorless, dark brown vermicompost was obtained. The vermicompost NPK content was 4.19%, 1.15%, and 6.18% respectively.

Keywords: Corn pulp, Eisenia fetida, vermicomposting, waste management.

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Authors: Rosida Ab. Razak, Mohamad Shanudin Zakaria

Abstract:

The fundamental issues in ICT Governance (ICTG) implementation for Malaysian Public Sector (MPS) is how ICT be applied to support improvements in productivity, management effectiveness and the quality of services offered to its citizens. Our main concern is to develop and adopt a common definition and framework to illustrate how ICTG can be used to better align ICT with government’s operations and strategic focus. In particular, we want to identify and categorize factors that drive a successful ICTG process. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study to identify, validate and refine such Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and confirmed seven CSFs and nineteen sub-factors as influential factors that fit MPS after further validated and refined. The Delphi method applied in validation and refining process before being endorsed as appropriate for MPS. The identified CSFs reflect the focus areas that need to be considered strategically to strengthen ICT Governance implementation and ensure business success.

Keywords: IT Governance, Critical Success Factors.

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Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi

Abstract:

This study was designed to find the best-fit probability distribution of annual rainfall based on 50 years sample (1966-2015) in the Karkheh river basin at Iran using six probability distributions: Normal, 2-Parameter Log Normal, 3-Parameter Log Normal, Pearson Type 3, Log Pearson Type 3 and Gumbel distribution. The best fit probability distribution was selected using Stormwater Management and Design Aid (SMADA) software and based on the Residual Sum of Squares (R.S.S) between observed and estimated values Based on the R.S.S values of fit tests, the Log Pearson Type 3 and then Pearson Type 3 distributions were found to be the best-fit probability distribution at the Jelogir Majin and Pole Zal rainfall gauging station. The annual values of expected rainfall were calculated using the best fit probability distributions and can be used by hydrologists and design engineers in future research at studied region and other region in the world.

Keywords: Log Pearson Type 3, SMADA, rainfall, Karkheh River.

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Authors: R. A. Temah, L. A. Nkengla-Asi

Abstract:

Planning for future disasters sets the stage for a variety of activities that may trigger multiple recurring operations and expose the community to opportunities to minimize risks. Local communities are increasingly embracing the necessity for planning based on local risks, but are also significantly challenged to effectively plan and response to disasters. This research examines basic risk-based disaster planning model and compares it with advanced risk-based planning that introduces the identification and alignment of varieties of local capabilities within and out of the local community that can be pivotal to facilitate the management of local risks and cascading effects prior to a disaster. A critical review shows that the identification and alignment of capabilities can potentially enhance risk-based disaster planning. A tailored holistic approach to risk based disaster planning is pivotal to enhance collective action and a reduction in disaster collective cost.

Keywords: Capabilities, disaster planning, hazards, local community, risk-based.

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Authors: Ali Nadi, Ali Edrissi

Abstract:

Relief demand and transportation links availability is the essential information that is needed for every natural disaster operation. This information is not in hand once a disaster strikes. Relief demand and network condition has been evaluated based on prediction method in related works. Nevertheless, prediction seems to be over or under estimated due to uncertainties and may lead to a failure operation. Therefore, in this paper a stochastic programming model is proposed to evaluate real-time relief demand and network condition at the onset of a natural disaster. To address the time sensitivity of the emergency response, the proposed model uses reinforcement learning for optimization of the total relief assessment time. The proposed model is tested on a real size network problem. The simulation results indicate that the proposed model performs well in the case of collecting real-time information.

Keywords: Disaster management, real-time demand, reinforcement learning, relief demand.

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Authors: Tomas Mitkus, Vaida Nedzinskaitė-Mitkė

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to identify and explore how adequate is modern innovation support mechanism to developed creative industries. We argue that current development and support strategy for creative industries, although acknowledge high correlation between innovation and creativity, do not seek to improve conditions to promote systematic innovation development in the creative sector. Using the Lithuanian animation industry as a case study, this paper will examine innovation contribution to creativity and, for that matter, the competitiveness of animation enterprises. This paper proposes insights that contribute to theoretical and practical discussions on how creative profile companies build national and international competitiveness through innovations. The conclusions suggest that development of creative industries could greatly benefit if policymakers would implement tools that would encourage creative profile enterprises to invest in to development of innovation at a constant rate.

Keywords: Creative industries, animation, innovation, innovation policy, management.

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Authors: Aniela Pop, Ianina Birsan, Corina Orha, Rodica Pode, Florica Manea

Abstract:

Carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode has been investigated through voltammetric and amperometric techniques in order to detect parabens from aqueous solutions. The occurrence into environment as emerging pollutants of these preservative compounds has been extensively studied in the last decades, and consequently, a rapid and reliable method for their quantitative quantification is required. In this study, methylparaben (MP) and propylparaben (PP) were chosen as representatives for paraben class. The individual electrochemical detection of each paraben has been successfully performed. Their electrochemical oxidation occurred at the same potential value. Their simultaneous quantification should be assessed electrochemically only as general index of paraben class as a cumulative signal corresponding to both MP and PP from solution. The influence of pH on the electrochemical signal was studied. pH ranged between 1.3 and 9.0 allowed shifting the detection potential value to smaller value, which is very desired for the electroanalysis. Also, the signal is better-defined and higher sensitivity is achieved. Differential-pulsed voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry were exploited under the optimum pH conditions to improve the electroanalytical performance for the paraben detection. Also, the operation conditions were selected, i.e., the step potential, modulation amplitude and the frequency. Chronomaprometry application as the easiest electrochemical detection method led to worse sensitivity, probably due to a possible fouling effect of the electrode surface. The best electroanalytical performance was achieved by pulsed voltammetric technique but the selection of the electrochemical technique is related to the concrete practical application. A good reproducibility of the voltammetric-based method using carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode was determined and no interference effect was found for the cation and anion species that are common in the water matrix. Besides these characteristics, the long life-time of the electrode give to carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode a great potential for practical applications.

Keywords: Carbon nanofiber-epoxy composite electrode, electroanalysis, methylparaben, propylparaben.

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Authors: Rajab Abdullah Hokoma

Abstract:

Almost all Libyan industries (both private and public) have struggled with many difficulties during the past three decades due to many problems. These problems have created a strongly negative impact on the productivity and utilization of many companies within Libya. This paper studies the current awareness and implementation levels of Just-In-Time (JIT) within the Libyan Textile private industry. A survey has been applied in this study using an intensive detailed questionnaire. Based on the analysis of the survey responses, the results show that the management body within the surveyed companies has a modest strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as being very crucial in any successful implementation of JIT. The results also show a variation within the implementation levels of the JIT elements as these varies between Low and Acceptable levels. The paper has also identified limitations within the investigated areas within this industry, and has pointed to areas where senior managers within the Libyan textile industry should take immediate actions in order to achieve effective implementation of JIT within their companies.

Keywords: Industry, questionnaire, JIT, textile.

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Authors: Namchul Do, Gyeongseok Chae

Abstract:

This paper proposes a framework for product development including hardware and software components. It provides separation of hardware dependent software, modifications of current product development process, and integration of software modules with existing product configuration models and assembly product structures. In order to decide the dependent software, the framework considers product configuration modules and engineering changes of associated software and hardware components. In order to support efficient integration of the two different hardware and software development, a modified product development process is proposed. The process integrates the dependent software development into product development through the interchanges of specific product information. By using existing product data models in Product Data Management (PDM), the framework represents software as modules for product configurations and software parts for product structure. The framework is applied to development of a robot system in order to show its effectiveness.

Keywords: HW and SW Development Integration, ProductDevelopment with Software.

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